5 Ways to Access a Locked Windows Account

Or if possible prevent this from happening by not using a password. That is if the sign in is with a local account. It's understandable that signing in with a Microsoft account would require a password.
 
Hello! where can I fiind the first picture with the Mountains and the water? I would like it as a wallpaper. thanks
 
UEFI complicates this, because you need to have bootable media recognized by the UEFI BIOS pest. Apple and Microsoft colluded to hoodwink the computer industry into using UEFI where possible. UEFI is supposed to make your computer safer from intruders. Actually, it makes computers with Apple Mac OS X or Microsoft Windows safer from alien operating systems. My gosh! Just think! An alien operating system running on a Windows computer.

I have not come across any way to put Offline NT Password & Registry Editor (Chntpw) on UEFI bootable media. Pity, because this is far and away the most simple way to reset Windows passwords and unlock user accounts.

I need to see if the ophcrack ISO can be booted on an infernal UEFI BIOS computer.

The first two password methods are very creative. Thank you.
 
Apple and Microsoft colluded to hoodwink the computer industry into using UEFI where possible.

No, that wasn't it.

BIOS is early '80s technology. It was proving inadequate for Intel server platforms under development, so Intel created EFI, which they gave to the public domain, where it was developed into UEFI.

BIOS has a maximum of one MB of addressable memory, and is restricted to 16-bit operation. Access to hardware on the system is very limited. UEFI allows addressing the full amount of RAM installed on the computer, in 32 or 64 bit mode. It allows networking and diagnostics (or whatever else the writer of the firmware may wish to do) without a boot device being present or configured. It allows booting from GPT-formatted boot devices by specification (MBR tables being quite limited too; no 2+ GB partitions with MBR, and only four primary partitions maximum). Linux can boot from GPT volumes even with MBR, but Windows won't.

There's really no comparison, nor any reason for hardware manufacturers to saddle new PCs or boards with BIOS and all of its limitations. I'm no fan of change for the sake of change, or when there is no real benefit, but this is not one of those cases.

UEFI is supposed to make your computer safer from intruders. Actually, it makes computers with Apple Mac OS X or Microsoft Windows safer from alien operating systems.

That's not UEFI. That's Secure Boot. If you don't like it, turn it off-- most boards/PCs will let you do that. Don't buy one that won't let you turn it off. UEFI is okay; Secure Boot is okay. Secure Boot that can't be turned off is not okay.

Secure Boot has its legitimate uses too. I do have a problem with the keys being in the hands of Microsoft, but the idea of a signed bootloader that will halt the system if there has been tampering has obvious security implications. Rootkits can modify the bootloader so that they start before the operating system, hiding the presence of the nefarious code, and allowing it to do whatever its programmer wants it to do.

Having that code signed by MS, though, is asking for trouble, and certainly I'd rather have a means of self-signing an approved configuration and storing the hash for that in protected storage, but I'm no cryptologist. I do know, though, that rootkits are real, and secure boot is the only real defense against them.

I have not come across any way to put Offline NT Password & Registry Editor (Chntpw) on UEFI bootable media. Pity, because this is far and away the most simple way to reset Windows passwords and unlock user accounts.

I don't know why it would not work. If you're using Rufus to write the image, you will have to use a hidden setting to correctly write the UEFI and MBR boot configurations. I don't remember what the key code was; the readme should tell you. It's a bizarre design decision by the Rufus devs. Until I did that, I was having trouble getting a Windows .iso to work on my UEFI machine and my BIOS machine. No idea if that is what you're facing, but it's an idea.
 
Unfortunately, tapping F8 to get into safe mode does not work on Windows 10. Note the period. It just does not work at all unless you take special steps to enable it; this is speaking from personal experience in cleaning up Windows 10 upgrade messes.

If you have lost your password, getting the F8 key to work in Windows 10 to give you a menu will be difficult at best if not impossible. If anyone really wants to go this route, perhaps the best action to take is at this link https://www.infopackets.com/news/9779/how-fix-safe-mode-windows-10-f8-menu-missing that gives instructions on how to enable F8 in Windows 10 permanently. I have not tried the steps at this site myself, so YMMV. However, on searching, there are other sites that give instructions on getting into the safe mode menu.
 
Personally, I prefer the NTOfflinePassword utility, very easy to use and gets the job done quickly. Ophcrack is OK, as long as the CD/USB contains your password in the dictionary file, which in most case is a hit and miss.

Alternatively, if you have access to the NSA supercomputer system, you could use Ophcrack to output the hash of your password, then import it into the NSA's rig.
 
An alternate way to get into the recovery console is boot to the lock screen now hold down the shift key while clicking restart from the shutdown menu

Also none of the above works on Acer laptops that have a TPM installed and activated as a factory default as well as Bitlocker

the only way to fix that is full system reset back to like new
 
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